Beach Bump Graduates!

[Hann12]

The end of that programme made me nervous! Actually the whole screaming with pain made me nervous lol!!

 

[mummySS]

I'm not allowed to watch any baby/birth shows any more, paul gets really bored with them. So we're watching Question time... SNORE.

Thanks for your comments about the hen, i'm glad you agree it's too much!

Caz glad work was ok (if long) and you didn't do anything wrong. But i still think you need to talk to them about your workload! xx

night night all x

 

[Hann12]

That's rubbish that you can't watch those programmes Simmy! Greg isn't a fan either but he just goes to sleep mainly!
Talking of which he was out until 2.30am this morning then started making food then finally got to bed at 3.30am then we were all up at 6.15 with Annabelle. I'm shattered!
He went to dinner and drinks with the husband of the girl who has been really off with me. We are seeing them Sunday, not looking forward to it, especially because the friend was going on to Greg about how stupid he thinks he is to let me stay at home and 'do nothing' while Greg works! Firstly a) I'm not doing nothing - it's harder looking after a toddler than doing my old job b) I've still got money because I got made redundant so I pay for much of the house stuff c) I'm pregnant and so again hardly doing nothing. I think he thinks I sit at home eating cake and watching TV all day which as you all know us far from the truth with a toddler. I'm just furious that he said all that as its not the first time and its none of his business! He also said that on Sunday they would come around 1-3 so hopefully Annabelle will be asleep because 'babies are like farts, you hate everyone else's but like your own'. They don't have any children yet and are apparently at least a year off it, they are so selfish and she is completely not maternal so it's no surprise that they behave like they do. It further confirms my thinking that the reason I have been ignored is because I'm deemed boring because I'm 'just a mum'! Grrr can't wait for Sunday lol!!

 

[LittleSpy]

Why are people so stupid?! I think staying home is WAY harder than most desk jobs. To me, it's just a lot more rewarding and that's why I want to do it. I hate, hate, hate my job and I really can't stand my supervisors because they're morons on power trips and they take themselves way too seriously and we don't mesh well at all. I'm very well aware of how much more difficult and frustrating and exhausting it's going to be to stay home with 2 under 2 and take care of the house!

Well, not very well aware, since I haven't done it yet. But I can only imagine it's going to be a nightmare for a bit.

I'm with you Hann on the screaming in pain bit. The most I did with Maisie was breathe really loudly. I think. All I know is Scott was freaking out about me doing that and really couldn't stand watching it, honestly. He just kept saying, "I hate seeing you in pain!" Oh okay, I'm so sorry for YOU because it's a real fun-fest for me! I don't even know what he'd do if I screamed in pain during labor! I think if I hadn't had an epidural right before transition I would've started moaning which seems really embarrassing to me even though I know it shouldn't. I'm way too self conscious, even in labor.

 

[Hann12]

It's probably because they have no children so no concept of how hard it is! They are two of the most selfish people I know so thankfully they aren't thinking about children for another year. She's not maternal in any way, almost pulls a face at the thought of holding a newborn for example. They are the kind of couple that would have children and immediately get a nanny but in all likelihood she also wouldn't go back to work so she would spend her days shopping and getting her hair done and thinking that's what being a stay at home mum was all about! They would also prob put them into a private boarding school as soon as they possibly could then brag to anyone and everyone about how wonderful and intelligent their children were. Not realising that if there children are clever etc it would have very little to do with them as they would have had so little involvement in their upbringing beyond paying! Sorry sounds nasty but that's just the kind of people they are!
It's really annoyed me anyway so really looking forward to Sunday and seeing them now!!

Julie - do you think you'll go for another epidural? I have no idea what I'm going to do!! I agree with Courtney, I think people try to show support by explaining what they have been through, and as for others posting at similar times that's just luck of the draw that people are unfortunately going through a tricky patch at the same time that she was. It's better that she steps away if she isn't wanting to hear stories from others though because as time progresses and people go into labour that's what will happen x

 

[LittleSpy]

I know those people, that's how my FIL and his wife (who isn't Scott's mom) are with my SIL (she's 16 now)! FIL's wife laughed in my face when I said I was breastfeeding Maisie (she was 4 days old at that point) and told me that lactation consultants are nazis. I wonder what she'll think when I become one!

I'm kind of going into this labor the same way I did with Maisie. And that's I'm open to an epidural for pain but nothing else (unless medically necessary, of course). I don't *definitely* want one, but I know how things went for me with Maisie and I nearly positive if I'm induced again I'm going to get one. If natural labor happens and isn't so aggressive for me, I'm going to attempt without. I got one with Maisie because I had literally no break between contractions (seriously, not exaggerating. No break. At all. Not even a second) and I started to panic. I knew panicking wasn't going to get me where I needed to be so I requested an epidural and that helped me keep the panic in check until the anesthesiologist arrived (2 hours later! ). One thing I did with Maisie that I'm NOT going to do this time is top up the epi! It started wearing off on my left side and I pushed the button for more twice, the last time ended up being like 10 minutes before she was born. So, I couldn't move my legs at all when it came time to push and then I couldn't walk for about 4 hours after. Until I pushed that button, I could move & feel my legs. So... yeah, that was a mistake on my part. And it didn't even do anything for the left side of my uterus where I was feeling the contractions so much.

 

[Hann12]

Sounds like we have a similar approach Julie to the birth. I hope yours goes well! I'll be waiting to hear!

I never got a response from the lactation consultant site, I enquired how to do it without becoming a nurse and they never came back to me. The other thing I'm looking at is becoming a BF councillor with NCT - would take 2-3 years and £9000 and not much money from it though - you get paid a nominal amount for classes and to be on the helpline. Lactation consultants are paid much more.....

 

[LittleSpy]

That sucks. The IBCLC site for the Americas had the pathways spelled out pretty well, you just had to dig around on the website for them.

I have just a few "health science education" courses to take (I took classes that count toward most of the requirements when I got my bachelor's degree in psychology) and then I have to take a lactation-specific course and get 1000 clinical hours of experience. I should be eligible to take the certification exam in 2 years max and it's looking like it'll cost me about $2000 to get the education and I'll get paid about $9,000 to get the experience assuming I can land the part-time job I want. Otherwise I'll be working on becoming a LLL leader which gives 500 clinical hours/year toward the requirement, from what I understand. I won't be able to do the LLL thing until I've breastfed this one for at least 9 months and even then I may not be able to depending on how they view my chronic low supply issues. Since it's international certification, I imagine the requirements are very similar no matter where you're trying to practice, you know?

I am considering getting a nursing degree, though. A LOT of the IBCLC jobs around here are in hospitals and they want their IBCLCs working double duty as RNs in the maternity ward. I'll just have to see how it goes. I NEVER saw myself being a nurse. I'm high-strung and flighty and squeamish. I'm not worrying about figuring it out for a few more months.

 

[Hann12]

I think it's probably easier to lay out in the US as you probably have the same qualifications across the country. The UK is in the Europe and Middle East category so there are a million types of qualifications you can get. Managed to find someone to contact online so sent then an email and see what they say. If they respond lol!

 

[caz_hills]

Wow Julie a nurse that would be amazing!

Han how awful for them not to respond. Hope they do soon.

Soooo glad it's the weekend we have my sister over on Sunday but other than that no plans, yay!

 

[caz_hills]

Early start here could really have done with another hour but hey ho.

It's snowing here - will be nice to get Ajay running outside in the snow! x

 

[Hann12]

Know how you feel Caz, I woke at 4.20am and couldn't get back to sleep. Annabelle joined us at 6.15. But on the upside if my friend can get here because of the weather I will see her today which is great as we don't see each other often but she's my best friend (lives in Birmingham). Hoping she can get here!!

 

[caz_hills]

I hope she can get there Han. Snow isn't bad here only a dusting. Think we are off food shopping shortly

 

[melissasbump]

Hi all Im back! kind of anyway!

Hope everyone is ok , the weather is just awful isnt it?
So i thought id give an outline of my birth story/experiance over the last few days.

Tuesday...just another day... In the evening i started off with mild period like cramps, didnt think a whole lot of them but they got stronger(not THAT strong) and enough to make me wonder if it was early labour. With a s/a c section you get told that for any signs of labour to contact the hospital..
Left it a few hours we started trying to time them but werent really regular enough so at about 11pm we decided to just try and get some sleep and thought that if they were nothing then they would go anyway.
Oh by the way LUCKILY mum had Harrison overnight so we didnt have to worry about him.
So tried to get to sleep but couldnt, had really bad back ache too so at about 2am i woke Alan and said we need to make a decision about whether to contact the hospital, i still felt a bit silly about it thinking it was probably just a false alarm. I phoned and they told me to come in. so we had showers then went in for about 3am.
They hooked me up confirmed i was having mild contactions etc, baby was happy enough, they took my BP which was pretty high and my urine was +4. Well it had only ever been +1 before so that was worrying.
I had an internal check and it was apparent i wasnt in active labour, cervix high and closed and not dilating.
They tooks bloods and the rest of the time was waiting around for results of urine and bloods but they had indicated id be going home pretty soon, they even let me eat at 8am so that indicated they had no intention of surgery that day.
Bloods came back ok and so just waiting on urine which came back around 930am. 3 doctors and a mw walked into the room, the comsultant explained that the urine result diagnosed quite severe pre ecclampsia and the only cure would be delivery, hence they have decided to deliver that afternoon. Well mine and Alans face must have been a picture! i got really emotional lol looking back il never forget that moment in my whole life.
So after that we made a few calls, mum brought H in to see us before i went down for the op at about 2, it was all so surreal those last few hours.
From my last section it actually turns out i had lesions on my bladder so they had to be extra careful around there, but the op went really well, everyone in theatre was fab and lovely to me especially the anesatists, they had a bit of a job getting the spinal in but even that wasnt too bad at all.
So at 3pm our 2nd little man Lucas Daniel was brought into the world, we heard him crying straight away before we even saw him which was so reassurring especially as he was a little early. Couldnt believe how teeny he was though and when they told us the weight we were shocked!
The surgeon held him up over the screen and went "hello mummy" which was pretty funny really.
Recovery went really well, much better than last time, i didnt suffer with many after effects at all and they had me out of bed and showering the next morning, whereas last time it was 24 hours later so really quick. The 1st day is always the hardest with regards to the pain but started to feel better really quickly and today i actually feel really good so far.
Lucas, because they had to give me beta blockers before delivery (bp) was on a red feed care plan when he was 1st born, meaning he had to be fed every 3 hours and have regular blood sugar tests but he came off it really quick and is now back to normal, hes passed all his test so far, and despite being small he is perfectly formed with everything working as it should.
We got home last night at 6pm, it was all a bit overwelming and emotional, but this morning we are doing much better and Lucas seems pretty settled now. Harrison is a very proud big brother and is being lovely with him so far. He seems so big now, where did my little boy go!

We are going to write to the hospital over next few weeks about the consultant i saw last friday who showed no concerns about my protein and bp issues, as we feel we were lucky and no thanks to her things could have gone downhill a lot quicker than they did.
its very weird as we werent expecting to have our new baby so soon, although everything was prepared, mentally i dont think we were, so that will take a bit of time i think. Saying that we are over the moon with our family, im so proud all of my boys and despite the tiredness i couldnt be happier.

Getting tiny baby clothes has been a nightmare though as we didnt have any, also tiny nappies! Alan has actually popped out to a baby nearly new sale this morning to see if he can get any winter snow suits or anything as we have nothing to take him out in expecially in this weather!

 

[mummySS]

Welcome back Mel, wow thank you for writing up your birth story so quickly despite only just having got home! But i know how it is, the quicker you write it up the better otherwise you forget So glad you're faring a bit better today, must have been overwhelming when you first arrived home. Are you managing ok with Harrison? Does he expect you to lift him up etc?

Oh and so glad you're recovering better this time, how weird about the lesions, but at least it all went ok and they were able to do the op successfully - that's always the biggest concern with a c section isn't it.

I'll bet you were surprised by how teeny he was - I was surprised given H was much bigger, but then he arrived much earlier. Must be cute though with all those teeny tiny clothes And im sure he'll grow very quickly.

Oh and you should def do something about the horrible consultant while you remember, she could have missed something couldn't she!

Hope everyone else is ok, Hann I hope your friend gets to come today, snow isn't too bad so hopefully it's ok. Caz enjoy your chilled weekend. Julie, hang in there!

We're having a quiet weekend too, my parents are off on holiday on monday for a week, so we're popping over later, it's good cos leo gets out of the house that way - weather's so rubbish and he has a terrible cough so i don't really want to take him outside.

 

[caz_hills]

Sunny have a lovely time with your mum this afternoon.
Mel your birth story is fascinating - it must have been a total shock knowing they would deliver within hours but at least you and Lucas are safe and sound. It must be bizarre being at home now and bless little Harrison for being a sweet older brother.

Lazy day here - Ajay is napping and Neel showering so having a potter online x

 

[fifi-folle]

Glad all is going well Mel. Must have been quite surreal heading into theatre when you weren't expecting it. Sounds like Lucas is doing really well.

 

[Hann12]

Mel thanks for posting your story - sounds like a pretty good experience although the quickness was probably a bit scary! Def write a letter but be warned you'll probably get not much of a response. Someone I know was in a really negligent situation with her labour and ended up with a 3rd degree tear, she complained and the only response she got was that they would take her views on board when considering improvements to the way they operate. Pretty rubbish really.
It's a shame that I don't know whether my baby will be small again as I have a load of early baby and premature baby clothes from Annabelle that I could have sent to you! We had to buy them as nothing fit - she was an ounce heavier than Lucas - but full term lol! If he had stated in I don't reckon he would have been as big as H still - maybe a 7 pounder. It's nice for you to have a diddy one anyway! Hope he feeds well anyway and he'll catch up on the weight in no time!

I just had a lovely day with my best friends. I made a very unhealthy chocolate brownie tray which was delicious and we also had pizza and chips at lunch time so a bad food day! When they all left at 4pm I had an hours lie down and dozed with Annabelle occasionally climbing on me and the baby! Lol! Haven't been back to sleep since 4.20am so pretty knackered!!
My friends also said that my bump looked really small which pleased me as I feel huge but guess I'm prob not. Also my friend bought me some pressies for the baby including a gorgeous 'born in 2013' vest in newborn size that I'll be taking for the baby to wear in hospital. So cute!

Got the horrible couple coming tomorrow so not looking forward to that it's only 2 hours though so I'll just have to cope!

Caz - going to message you later as need to ask a favour, need someone who's met me and seen me with Annabelle to write me a reference to do a BF course - will send you the details, completely understand if you are too busy though x

 

[melissasbump]

Hann, sounds like a lovely day. To be honest not really expecting a response re writing or anything, more like just to share my experiance with them and hope they take it into consideration when dealing with others. Oh and in response again to you worrying about your size, I was/am HUGE and Lucas is tiny so that just shows it doesnt bare much reflection lol.
Actually re clothes managed to get a couple of tiny baby snow suits on next sale today so that was a result, Alan went to a nearly new sale, sainsburys and Asda and couldnt get anything its all summer stuff.

So today been quite good, probably done more than i should, but ive been feeling pretty good. We have had 2 midwife visits today, the regular one then because no one has doe a proper check of Lucas like they are supposed to another one came this afternoon. He has passed everything so far with flying colours, he is being referred for a hip scan but thats only because he spent a considerable time breech before birth, MW doesnt think there are any problems.
He has been really settled today, feeding pretty much bang on everyt 4 hours and if not sleeping then really chilled out in between. Im daring to hope he may be like H in that respect, if so then we are very lucky however ive probably spoke too soon! lol
Its been nice as we have been on our own today, so have managed to get organised, a bit of tidying, putting away and chilling out.
I can tell you how good it is not to feel sick and enjoy my food again, I also had PATE for my lunch it was like heaven! lol x

 

[Hann12]

Ah Mel it sounds like you are doing fab! Annabelle was never chilled out as a baby so I'm jealous and I hope the next one is!
Mothercare will do just simple sleepsuits and vests small enough. Asda will be huge even at early baby - they just come up massive!